Cyprus and India on Thursday signed a letter of intent for a ‘migration and mobility partnership’, initiating a process for an eventual agreement on migration between the two nations.
The letter of intent was signed by Interior Minister Nicos Nouris and India’s Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who is on an official visit to the island.
According to a press release by the interior ministry, the signing was made following Nouris’ recent contacts in India with that country’s deputy minister of the interior responsible for migration.
The texts of the agreement have already been exchanged and are being processed by the relevant ministries, with the aim of signing the agreement by February 2023.
The eventual agreement is expected to regulate not only irregular migration and return issues, of those applicants whose applications are rejected, but also legal migration as well as employment and residence opportunities for nationals of the two countries.
In its press release the interior ministry expressed satisfaction with “the willingness and response of the Indian government to regulate the serious issue of migration on the basis of a comprehensive agreement.”
Nouris had visited New Delhi in mid-November, attending the 3rd International Ministerial Conference on Combating the Financing of Terrorism.
In talks with Indian officials, Nouris had pointed out the need to conclude an agreement on the re-admission of people residing illegally in the two countries, an agreement that Cyprus has already submitted to the Indian government.
He also proposed the establishment of a liaison officer of the government of India in Cyprus for direct and close cooperation with Cypriot police to deal with the phenomenon of fake documents, the trafficking and exploitation of persons, as well as the fight against drug trafficking.
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